bp to invest up to £50 million in new battery R&D center in UK

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - bp unveiled plans on Monday to invest up to £50 million ($61 million) in a new, state-of-the-art electric vehicle (EV) battery testing center and analytical laboratory in the UK.

The new facilities, planned to open by the end of 2024, will be located at bp's existing global headquarters for its Castrol business in Berkshire.

Castrol intends to use the new facilities to continue to work with car manufacturers and suppliers to co-engineer future battery technology and associated thermal management fluids.

"The new facilities will help advance the development of leading fluid technologies and engineering for hybrid and fully battery electric vehicles, aiming to bring the industry closer to achieving the key tipping points for mainstream electric vehicle (EV) adoption," bp said.

The announcement comes after bp announced its intention to invest up to £18 billion in the UK's energy system by the end of 2030.